From GMA. The sign off I will always remember. Grandma Shriner sent the best cards, short on words but always carefully selected for a laugh. A reflection of her unmistakable wit that filtered down to Dad and onto Erin and I, surely to be passed onto little Shriner’s too.
All the way from America, Grandma stood in front of my class for Show & Tell in Grade 3. She made everyone smile and laugh with a few words and her funny accent. I remember feeling so proud, as I am today.
A brilliant golfer, storyteller and traveller, our camping trip to Pebbly Beach was a highlight. Grandma sat in the back of our red Camry between two squabbling sister’s for the two day drive to NSW. It rained and rained and rained and she smiled through it but on Day 5 she booked into a hotel in town. I remember she was happy to see a hairdryer and probably the TV.
Fast-forward to high school and Grandma the traveller was back. I remember on a visit to the Guarna’s house in CLG she had some choice words for my in vogue Hawaiian shirt; “where did you get that, the junk store?”. Looking back she was right, the shirt was no good. She was not afraid to speak her mind. After school, my trips to America became more frequent and I was always grateful to have a bed at Grandma’s. In 2012 I spent two months in Indiana before I moved to New York. We put out the Christmas decorations and took excursions to the mall. She asked me to fix her computer and she took me through her photos, recounting stories from years ago with incredible detail.
I remember one day sitting at her kitchen bench feeling completely lost and teary. Grandma said something to me that I will treasure forever. I think about those words whenever I feel that way and I always feel better. She wasn’t just funny, she was loving and incredibly smart.
Adam told me that I would look back and realise how lucky I was to spend those few months living at Grandma’s. He was right. I was lucky to have a one-of-a-kind Grandma and I’m lucky to have a big family who shares so many of her traits. Love to all the Shriners.
